 | Poems Lyrical and Dramatic |  |
182
ELFRIDA.
AN ARABESQUE.
She came down to the shore and cried:
It seemed the mad waves paused to hear;
A mad wind rose and echoed loud:
Shrank from her feet the surf aside;
Gathered white wings from far and near,
And spread above a shrieking crowd:
It seemed the mad waves paused to hear;
A mad wind rose and echoed loud:
Shrank from her feet the surf aside;
Gathered white wings from far and near,
And spread above a shrieking crowd:
The surf was cloven out at sea:
Came floating o'er the waves a shape
With wings: red lightnings went before,
Across the dark came white waves three;
The mountains wore a cloudy cape:
A black storm rose and onward bore.
Came floating o'er the waves a shape
With wings: red lightnings went before,
Across the dark came white waves three;
The mountains wore a cloudy cape:
A black storm rose and onward bore.
Elfrida opes her soft white arms,
But turns her face in fear away;
All night her thirsting lips are kissed,
A touch of fire her bosom warms;
She staggers home at break of day
With two blue marks on either wrist.
But turns her face in fear away;
183
A touch of fire her bosom warms;
She staggers home at break of day
With two blue marks on either wrist.
Ere long she fell on deadly plight
That all who saw were well aware
She struggled with some monstrous birth.
They called a priest one stormful night;
None know what thing it was she bare:
They slew and hid it under earth.
That all who saw were well aware
She struggled with some monstrous birth.
They called a priest one stormful night;
None know what thing it was she bare:
They slew and hid it under earth.
| Poems Lyrical and Dramatic | |